EGYPTIAN AND ASSYRIAN ANTIQUITIES. 67 



A mythological being, in the form of Eabani, 

 holding a standard. 



A nude goddess, with a babe at her breast. 

 A broken stamped plaque, and a mould for 

 figures of an early Babylonian goddess Ninni 

 are included in this group. 



HiMYARITIC : — 



A collection of nine inscriptions, in bold letters, 

 cut in limestone, of a votive character, which illus- 

 trate the ceremonies that were performed at the 

 dedication of temples, fortresses, wells, etc. They 

 were obtained from various sites in the Hinterland 

 of Aden, which are far from ordinary trade-routes, 

 and exhibit local peculiarities of spelling, etc. 

 About B.C. 1000—700. 



III. — Presents. 

 1. A large, handsome roll of papyrus inscribed with 

 a series of the compositions, i.e., spells, prayers, 

 hymns, etc., which form the Chapters of the 

 great funerary work of the Egyptians called 

 " Per-em-hru," or the " Book of Coming Forth by 

 Day," now generally known as the " Book of the 

 Dead." The texts are written in the hieratic 

 character, and the script is remarkable for its 

 clearness and freedom from contractions. Like 

 all hieratic papyri of the period, the copying of 

 the papyrus was begun at the right-hand end, 

 and not at the left, as is the case with hiero- 

 glyphic papyri. The Chapters are accompanied 

 by Vignettes, which are beautifully drawn in 

 black outline and are usually placed at the top 

 of the text, as near to the Chapters to which they 

 refer as possible. Some large Vignettes, e.g., the 

 Judgment Scene, are given in duplicate. The 

 length of the papyrus is about 122 feet, and its 

 width I ft. 8^ in. It is the longest roll of the 

 Book of the Dead hitherto discovered, and with 

 the exception of the Harris Papyrus (No. 9900) 

 is the longest papyrus known. 



The papyrus was made forjPrincess Nestaneb- 

 asher, the daughter of Nesi-Khensu, the wife of 

 Painetchem II., a high priest king at Thebes, 

 about B.C. 980, and was buried with her in her 

 tomb. During the troubles which came upon 

 Thebes soon after her death, her mummy, her 

 papyrus, and all her funerary furniture were 

 removed with the mummies of the kings and 

 queens to a tomb at Der al-Bahari, where they 

 remained hidden until they were discovered by 

 the natives of Kurnah (Thebes) some time before 

 1870. The papyrus reflects the religious opinions 



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